Trip to the Izu Peninsula
I just came back from a 3 days trip to Izu with my boyfriend.
The Izu peninsula is situated south-west from the Tokyo Metropolitan area, furthern down on the Pacific shore than Yokohama. It is famous for its wild scenery, its large variety of hot springs and ‘Izu no odoriko’ or ‘The Dancing Girl of Izu’, Nobel prize winner writer Kawabata Yasunari’s debut short story.
Some free passes are available on both JR and Odakyu lines and they are quite worth it since you have unlimited access to the local trains and buses. We used Minami Izu Free Pass as we stayed mainly in the southern part of the peninsula.
You can also choose from a wide range of hotels, pensions and ryokans (Japanese traditional hotels) and we staid at Isokaze Ryokan on the very tip of the Suzaki peninsula east of Shimoda city in the most southern region of Izu. The people there very very friendly, they even offer a free pick up service as well as a regular morning shuttle service to the nearest train station. We booked a pack including breakfast and dinner and the food was wonderful. Since dinner is served quite early at 18 and we couldn’t make it one day they even kindly brought it to our rooms where we found it waiting for us. But most of all, the gorgeous location right on the tip of the pen insula, enabling a 180 degree viwe of the Pacific. Its hot bath was also very neat and especially the outside bath (routenburou) enchanted me as I stood naked in hot water gazing at the stary sky reflecting in the black sea, lightened now and then by the sparkling far-away beams of passing boats, the sea breeze entangled in my hair and the fresh scent of salt in my nostrils.
We visited the
*White Beach (Shirahama), by far the best beach I’ve ever been too in Japan, remote and with relatively high waves
*Seven Waterfalls (Nana Daru, a delightful mountain promenade (not even climbing really) along a river boasting seven splendid waterfalls
*Kuroneiburou, an open-air mixed hot spring located just on the beach (take care, although it’s mixe, everyone is naked)
*Irozaki cruise, a gorgeous half an hour cruise through calcarous rock formations in the extreme south of Izu
*Shimoda rope-way, a nice promenade with a breath-taking view of the bay from atop a high mountain (Sleeping Mountain) just beside the train station
We also liked the indian restaurant Magic India located just next to shimoda station and the warmth of local people who were always glad to be of help.
I recommended it as an affordable, rejuvenating and handy get-away from noisy Tokyo. i myself hope to go ther again and explore other sides of the peninsula.
View from the Hotel’s terace
Traditional sea-food dinner in our room
Shirohama beach
One of the seven waterfalls
Calcarous formations in Irozaki
Bay view from atop the Sleeping Mountain
